Marionberry

You don't have to live in Oregon to grow Marionberries! This gourmet blackberry cultivar is a snap to grow in temperate and warm climates, and the berries are so delicious. You need only one shrub (it's self-pollinating), so you can work it into even a crowded sunny garden spot. Marionberry is a national treasure, and it's time for you to enjoy its scrumptious flavor!

A cross of two blackberry cultivars (Chehalem and Olallie) developed by the USDA and Oregon State University more than 60 years ago, Marionberry is the perfect blend of flavors, size, and high yields. These dark purple berries have a frosty cast (very appealing on a hot summer day in the garden!) and are bursting with flavor. They make excellent preserves of all kinds -- jams, jellies, compotes -- and are superb in pies and other baked treats. Of course, you may just want to gobble them down right off the vine; that works well, too.

This plant is shrubby, with a central leader and numerous side shoots, all loaded with berries. You'll see the first nubby little berries in late spring, and by midsummer they will be ripening magnificently. After the harvest, prune the shrub back severely. There -- your work is done!

Marionberry (it's named for Marion County, Oregon, where it was developed) thrives in mild climates. The majority of commercial marionberries are grown in Oregon. But as long as you have enriched, loamy soil with plenty of sunshine, you can grow Marionberry successfully in hardiness zones 6 through 9. Prune it back annually and it will reach just 2 to 3 feet wide and about 6 feet high. A lot of disease resistance and vigor have been grown into this blackberry, and you'll love how tough it is when environmental challenges arise.

Add Marionberry to your sunny garden this season, and you'll soon be speaking the lingo of the Oregonians, who call it "the Cabernet of blackberries"!